


Of Air Guitar and Ben

by Bloodstained_Carnations



Category: Kiersey College (Webseries)
Genre: Air Guitar, And Ben loves it of course, Ben; "And that is the moment I fell in love with Cole", Cole gets to have fun!, Cole's air guitar, Dr. C loves the kids shenanigans, Kiersey College, Kiersey Drama Club, M/M, SINCERELY ME, dear evan hansen - Freeform, dont tell anyone
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:54:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28483485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bloodstained_Carnations/pseuds/Bloodstained_Carnations
Summary: In which Cole Kolinsky has some well deserved fun at rehearsal (and Ben Shaley may be there).
Relationships: Ben "Rhodey" Shaley & Cole Kolinsky, Ben "Rhodey" Shaley/Cole Kolinsky, Cole Kolinsky & Quinn Cooper & Reid Burke, Cole Kolinsky & Reid Burke
Comments: 1
Kudos: 5





	Of Air Guitar and Ben

**Author's Note:**

  * For [hockeysometimes](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hockeysometimes/gifts).



> Please disregard my summary :) This is for Peri! Love ya, Peri <3

Cole jumps around, completing his lackluster choreography while Reid and Quinn do the same next to him. It's 5pm on a Tuesday, the house lights are on in the theatre, and Dr. C is sitting in the back row of the audience, staring at their trio. Cole loves this part of the show; Dear Evan Hansen can hardly be called light, and Sincerely, Me is a joy among the stuff that makes him sob. 

As is typical for them regardless, Sincerely, Me will usually make Reid go nuts, while Quinn stays in character. Cole himself is far less predictable than his co-stars, but he loves to laugh at whatever bullshit Reid pulls. So far, a comprehensive list of Reid’s shenanigans during Sincerely, Me is as follows:  
-Has done a high kick  
-Has done multiple high kicks, in quick succession  
-Has jumped over Quinn’s head as Quinn scolded him  
-Has attempted a cartwheel  
\- succeeded in doing a cartwheel. Bri taught him.  
-Has picked Cole up and spun him around  
-Has jumped off the stage  
-Has dramatically lip-synced the ‘I rub my nipples’ part at Jhiron, who’s up in the sound booth 

Needless to say, performing with Reid is always entertaining to Cole, and Reid loves to perform for a receptive audience. It’s a symbiotic relationship. 

Today, Sincerely, Me is once again the name of the game. Dr. C is adamant that the song be a show stopping riot of a number, for obvious reasons. It's quite literally the only upbeat song in DEH- Sincerely, Me is to Dear Evan Hansen as Master of the House is to Les Miserables- and it has to be exactly as much of a relief as it was intended to be. As such, Dr. C is also adamant that they take this song seriously, and Cole intends to listen to her. 

Like as is completely usual in the Kiersey College drama club, especially when it gets closer to showtime, rehearsal goes very long. Very, very long. Now, don’t get him wrong- Cole loves drama club, he loves acting, and he loves these people. He would gladly give up hours of his time and energy to be here, on this very stage, singing his heart out. He loves being backstage, too. But what Cole is right now is tired, and kinda-sorta bored of Sincerely, Me. Only a little! But still. So it is somewhat of a relief, when the first welcome distraction occurs. 

“Take five, boys! You’ve worked hard. Go get some water,” Dr. C calls as Jhiron fades out their latest rendition. Cole silently cheers. 

“Thank you five!” Cole skips down the stairs of the stage and sits himself down in the chair next to his backpack, and the first thing he does is check his phone. It’s 5:27- he’s got until 5:32. Perfect. Ready for a well deserved 5 minutes of rest, Cole leans back in his chair and looks towards the doorway, which also contains a gesticulating Reid, who is talking to Quinn. 

Because Cole is looking towards the doorway, he is in a perfect point to see a Ben Shaley walk in the door at 5:29. Ben Shaley is always a welcome distraction for Cole, or welcome even when he isn’t a distraction, and so of course Cole immediately jumps out of his chair and goes to pull Ben into a bro hug. 

“Heyyyy, man!” Ben laughs, shifting the guitar on his back to his other shoulder. “Long time no see!” 

At this, Cole snorts, “You saw me yesterday, dude.” Now, Cole is most definitely a collected, calm, and smooth guy, so what he does not do is blush at the fact that Ben Shaley seems to enjoy his company? A little bit? It’s very dumb to blush at that. 

“So? A bro can miss his bros.” Ben grins at Cole. “How’s rehearsal going?” 

“Dude. So much fucking Sincerely, Me. I have said ‘My sister’s hot’ way too many times for me to be comfortable with,” Cole sighs. “But hey, it’s a great song!” 

“That it is, Kolinsky. At least you don’t have to hear Mini Cooper over there,” at this, Ben points over to Quinn, who is chatting with Dr. C, “sing Waving Through A Window at all 24 hours of the day. I’m pretty sure he sings it more than I play Wonderwall.” 

Cole snorts again (how can he not?) as his eyes wander to the guitar strapped to Ben’s back. It’s a nice guitar. He’s seen Ben play that guitar, played guitar with him a fair few times. It’s an unimportant thought though, so he brings himself back to where Ben has turned to his phone just as he hears Dr. C call out “Breaks over! Sincerely, Me boys come on back.” She turns to Ben. “Rehearsal is almost over, you can stay IF you’re quiet.” Ben nods his assent, and Cole treks back over to the stage. 

“Dear Evan Hansen, we’ve been way too out of touch…” Cole sings the opening lines of the song with gusto. The music is peppy, he loves his character, and rehearsal is almost out. He can afford some enthusiasm, and Dr. C is clearly appreciative. 

As the track Jhiron is playing cedes into the small argument Evan and Jared have, Cole smirks, peering over at the guitar Ben has strapped to his back. He loves guitar, he loves this song, he loves the damned riff that comes at the beginning of Evan’s first email. Now there’s a thought- that riff, guitar, end of rehearsal… 

“Dear Connor Murphy, yes I also miss our talks…” 

It’s almost instinctual, like his body knew before his brain did, when Cole brings up his arms for some enthusiastic air guitar at the riff. He laughs at Dr. C’s face, both stern and reprimanding, like she’s already writing the ‘Be Professional, Cole’ note he knows he’ll get, but also somewhat amused. He hears light laughter from the audience, a full on laugh from Reid, sitting opposite to him, and, to his triumph, a small giggle from Quinn. But Cole’s favorite reaction is the proud face Ben’s making, over in the doorway by the exit. 

Thirty minutes later, Cole finally trapises out of the theatre building after a very weak scolding from Dr. C and many, many pats on the back from Reid. He hears footsteps behind him, and turns to see one Ben Shaley, hot on his heels. 

“Cole Aaron Kolinsky!!” Ben stops just short of running into him, barely out of breath but with a smile ear-to-ear. “That was fucking epic!!” 

“Ben, it was two bars of music.” 

“Epic,” Ben shakes his head, and they head out together into the night.

**Author's Note:**

> *Sigh* we love Bencole. Anyway, all characters belong to Mel! Go follow her on Tumblr (https://sincerelyreidburke.tumblr.com/)


End file.
